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15. Barbara Novick

Vice chairman

Ms. Novick has one of the most delicate tasks facing anyone in financial services: convincing regulators that BlackRock—the world’s largest money manager, with $3.5 trillion in investor assets—is not too big to fail. Under last year’s financial reform law, institutions deemed “systemically important” are subject to greater regulatory scrutiny and must have higher levels of capital in reserve, which could permanently impair profits.

Ms. Novick, 50, is a BlackRock co-founder, as well as CEO Laurence Fink’s point person to lobby authorities in Washington, London and Brussels on this crucial issue. “Lobbyist” is one of many hats that Ms. Novick has worn during her 23 years at the firm, where she has overseen everything from global business development and strategy to marketing and client service.